Tag Archives: Henry’s Coffee Company

Powmill Milk Bar

Logo of Powmill Milk BarIt seems as if Powmill Milk Bar has always been there. Since time immemorial we have driven past it on our way to other places and said “we must go in there some time“. It’s always been a wooden shack style structure but it’s been there so long, the current incarnation must be third or fourth generation. Internal view of Powmill Milk Bar

Easyriders

Anyway, It was a nice day and we had been driving on inexpicably quiet roads to get here. Then it all became clear. Everybody was already here at Powmill Milk Bar! It was mobbed and it was obviously a favoured spot for motorbikes. Leather clad blokes were standing around admiring each other’s bikes in the way that leather clad blokes do. There was also some middle aged car bound blokes admiring all the Ducatis and Kawasaki flying machines and presumably dreaming of a life that might have been.

Scooters at Powmill Milk Bar
Scooters in the car park
Preloaded!

Inside it was going like a fair. We had to join the line at the self service counter but fortunately it went very quickly. A fruit scone was all we wanted but when we asked for jam and cream it seemed to cause some confusion. They just looked at us and said “we have cream scones“! It seemed easier just to agree though normally we steer well clear of preloaded scones. We’re just pernickety and like the performance of constructing our scones according to our own personal taste. On the plus side, however, we were delighted to find that they served Henry’s coffee … our long standing favourite.A scone at Powmill Milk Bar

Maybe the coffee influenced our experience but we really enjoyed our visit here and wondered why we hadn’t done it years ago. With its straight forward, no airs and graces, approach, we completely understand why it’s so popular. Generally you can’t eat preloaded scones without getting in a bit of a mess. The contents squidge out in all directions. However, a fork and knife helped make this one more manageable. Mind you, the light crumbly nature of the scone even made this quite tricky.  Very nice though.Internal view of Powmill Milk Bar

Unforgivable

Politics is so incomprehensible these days we are reluctant to comment on any of it. Putin’s war in Ukraine seems incomprehensible and unforgivable. Imagine if we could just go around murdering anyone who disagreed with us with seeming impunity? Goodness, that would reduce the world’s population quite considerably.

Britain and America’s slavish support for Israel also seems unforgivable. With all the anger generated it’s little wonder that George Galloway has won the Rochdale by-election. Let’s see what his acknowledged oratory skills can do for the Palestinians. Precious little we suspect. 

Starvation is now a huge problem in Gaza. Who would have thought that a Jewish state would end up guilty of genocide? Perhaps Israel is being advised by Britain. The British government has form. Its  God-given sense of superiority led to them having a long, if not illustrious, history when it comes to starvation. The Irish Famine in the 1850s and the Bengal Famine in 1943 in which millions died, come to mind.

Terminal boredom

On this side of the pond, the prospect of a Sunak/Starmer General Election is boring everyone to death. On the other side a Biden/Trump rerun Presidential Election is depressing everyone to death.  We’ll just stay here in Powmill looking at flying machines and dreaming of things we do understand … aah, the wind in our hair!

KY13 0QG       tel: 01577 840376          Powmill Milk Bar FB

///valued.passages.tripped

Dnisi

We’re in Kirkintilloch today to see one of Pat’s aunties. She’s in her nineties and of the nine aunts and uncles on her mum’s side this aunt is the last man standing. However, we haven’t seen her since she went into a care home and we had been warned that she probably wouldn’t know who we were. Consequently we were approaching with a degree of dread, it could be a very short visit. Unfortunately we arrived just as the home was sitting down to lunch so they asked us to come back in an hour. Hence we find ourselves here in Dnisi killing time.Sign at Dnisi, Kirkintilloch

In spite of Pat having had several relatives in the Kirkie (as it’s known locally) this is the first time we have ventured downtown. Parking’s a nightmare! Dnisi is part of a chain which sports seven outlets across Scotland. It originated here in Kirkintilloch in 2004. Their unique selling point is “roasted in-store coffee”. Having invested in small coffee roasting machines, they actually roast their coffee on site in each venue. You can also buy the D’nisi blend to take away. On a large hessian sign pinned to the wall they also proclaim to have award winning handbaked scones . All very promising!Variety of scones at Dnisi, Kirkintilloch

Overindulging

We decided to share a toasted cheese andwich and a fruit scone along with some of their special coffee. Imagine our surprise when the huge toasted sandwiched arrived on two plates with half the sandwich on each accompanied with a salad and french fries. A scone at Dnisi, KirkintillochEach plate was lunch on its own! We had just wanted a snack but it was all so delicious that it disappeared quite quickly.  Then the scone! It was huge as well! Unfortunately, it too was delicious with a lovely crunchy exterior so it went the same way as the sandwich.  

Together with the friendly service it might well have been a topscone had it not been quite so big and the jam and cream hadn’t been prepackaged. They are trying very hard in Dnisi, however, we would thoroughly recommend it. By the way, the coffee was good as well, Not as good as our favourite Cat’s Pyjamas, but good.Internal view of Dnisi, Kirkintilloch

It was time to return to the nursing home so we waddled out past the grey granite drinking fountain which you can see in the title picture. At the top there is the motto of Kirkintilloch which says ‘Ca’canny but ca’awa‘. It’s in Scots but an English translation might be ‘Carry on carefully, but keep carrying on’.  We might adopt that as our own motto!

Back at the nursing home, we needn’t have worried. Pat’s aunt knew us straight away. She was absolutely delighted to see us and insisted on introducing us to all her friends. It was a joyful visit!

Time?

No joy, however, elsewhere. The war in Gaza makes us feel positively sick. sign at Dnisi, KirkintillochThe situation is absolutely desperate. When we think about the causes, however, one thing seems to stand out … God! It may not be PC these days to think of Him as a Him but for the purposes of this blog He’s a bloke. The puzzling thing is that He is on both sides. Apparently about 2000 years ago He told the Jews that the land of Israel was theirs. A bit unGodlike to show favouritism but let’s accept that He did.

That would be fine it wasn’t for Him also promising the same land to the Palestinians who had been living there for thousands of years before. Isn’t it a crying shame that they didn’t have iPhones back then to record all these conversations with God! The Holy Land has always been a mess but there were people happily living there when it was just Land. God is always blessing America and that in itself should demonstrate what a deeply flawed individual He is! And three or four thousand years is but a blink of an eye in terms of time so perhaps it might help if both sides just left God out of it … He’s not helping! 

Luckily we still have joyful old aunties and places like Dnisi to see us through!

G66 1JD        tel: 0141 578 0135           Dnisi

///signed.mammals.spun

The Riverside

We’re at the Riverside today because we are following Forth Valley Artbeat trail which is a kind of open house for local artists. It happens for one week every year. First we went to see Archie Scott at his woodturning studio in Bannockburn.Spalted beech bowl by Archie ScottWe bought this beautiful little bowl which he had made out of rotten wood. Actually, it’s not as bad as it sounds. Once the tree has died fungi colonise the wood and extract nutrients from it, leaving behind dark lined patterns. The process is called spalting and our bowl is made of spalted beech wood. Archie was a lovely guy and spent ages with us explaining everything he does, it was absolutely fascinating

Harry

After our woodturning experience we carried on to Dunblane where there were more studios to visit. Before that, of course some lunch was called for and that’s how we ended up here at the Riverside. Originally it was the Stirling Arms built in1770. Robert Burns stayed here in 1787and wrote the poem ‘My Harry Was A Gallant Gay‘, It’s about HIghland Harry’s association with the local laird’s daughter, Jeannie Gordon. Nowadays, however, with Harry, Duke of Suffolk’s ongoing legal battles, we think the title might be problematic.Internal view of the Riverside in Dunblane

Pat and I usually share almost everything. Today however we are taking it a stage further and splitting everything three ways with one of our neighbours who had come with us. To stretch the tolerance of the Riverside even further we decided to do a three way split on two scones … their last fruit scone and a plain one. The staff were very understanding … everything we got came with three plates.

It was a very hot day so we sat outside on the balcony overlooking the the river, the Allan Water. Thank goodness there was a large canopy to provide shade.

The balcony at the Riverside in Dunblane

The scones were quite big and came with jam and the ubiquitous Roddas Cornish clotted cream. A scone at the Riverside in DunblaneThey were very enjoyable but half way through I decided to top up my tea from the teapot. I forgot to use the strainer which was right in front of me and ended up with lots of tealeaves in my cup. Our neighbour immediately sprang into action offering to ‘read my leaves’. Goodness, we’ve been neighbours for over forty years and we had no idea she was into tasseography. Just when you thought you knew someone!

It’s all in the detail

Apparently, I am going on a long journey over water amongst many other things. She was having difficulty, however, with detail because the tealeaves were too big. Turns out the tea supplier also provides Riverside with our favourite coffee. We have reported the matter and they have promised to get scissors and cut each leaf in half. Perhaps it was fortuitous that  more detail was not forthcoming. Anyway, although our scones were lovely they weren’t topscones. But if you are looking for somewhere to chill in lovely surroundings and with good food and good service, look no further than the Riverside.

The balcony at the Riverside in Dunblane

Fun guys

A few yards further up the High Street from Riverside is Balhaldie House where Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed as he led his army south in his bid to regain the throne for his dad.  Six months later the Duke of Cumberland was riding past Balhaldie in hot pursuit of the retreating Prince. A pot of boiling oil was thrown from an upstairs window at Balhaldie by a serving lass who had taken a wee fancy to the bonnie Prince. The Duke fell off his horse but no one was seriously hurt. It does show, however, that you can’t be too careful when you make more than political enemies. Just ask Boris Johnson or Donald Trump. Perhaps they should consider a stay at the nearby Dunblane’s Hydro Hotel. The medicinal baths are supposed to calm the nerves of the “worried well”.

FK15 0AA.        tel: 01786 823318          The Riverside

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Woodside Hotel

Sign at the Woodside Hotel, DouneWhen the American War of Independence started in the ironically named Concord in Massachusetts the first shot was fired from a pistol that was made where we are today. Yes, you guessed it, we are in the village of Doune, once famous for its pistol making. The first shot was fired from the American side and we are pretty sure that whoever was on the receiving end wasn’t bothered about where the gun was made. It would be ironic, however, if whoever got shot was from Scotland … or even Doune! Even more ironic if the person firing it was from Scotland as well … we like to be even handed. Today we are not thinking of starting a war but simply to visit the newly reopened Woodside Hotel.

Mosaic at the Woodside Hotel, Doune
Mosaic at the main door
Transformation

For years we have been driving past this place and been dismayed to see it become increasing dilapidated. Snug area the Woodside Hotel, DouneFor a few of years it lay empty. All change, however, because it was recently taken over by people who already run a couple of popular establishments in nearby Stirling and Dunblane. They’ve spent a lot of money and it shows … very pleasantly surprised as soon as we walked in the door.  It has a light airy dining room, a modern bar area and a large coffee lounge.There’s also a nice cosy little snug area with a  wood burning stove. Internal bar view of the Woodside Hotel, Doune

We were seated in a large bay window. A spot of brunch was the order of the day and then a scone to share. A scone at the Woodside Hotel, DouneFirst thing we noticed was the coffee. It was fab and , of course, it turned out to be our favourite Cat’s Pyjamas from Henry’s Coffee Company. They only had fruit scones left and it turned out to be quite a spicy affair with lots of raisins, sultanas as well as things like peel that you don’t normally get. It was very nice and the spiciness was really unusual.  Bit on the large side for our liking and, of course it came with the ubiquitous Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream. Not quite a topscone but delicious nevertheless.

Think we might be back here quite often because one of Pat’s favourite shops is only about 100 yards away.

Internal view of the Woodside Hotel, Doune

Righteous and indignant

It’s a small village but Doune is famous for more than just starting far away wars. It has a castle that’s featured in Outlander, Game of Thrones, Monty Python and the Holy Grail to name but a few. It has a distillery and a huge antique centre. As well as all that it is also a favourite place for the fairy folk. They are often seen dancing on the nearby Fairy Knowe. And if you think that’s a bit far fetched, the news these days seems to be full of balloons. No, not the type we have in government! Huge Chinese ones that are floating over the US’s nuclear arsenal in Montana. Goodness, John Dutton would never have stood for that sort of thing over his Yellowstone ranch. Always amusing when governments get all righteous and indignant about others spying on them …. as if they didn’t do exactly the same!Logo of the Woodside Hotel, Doune

FK16 6AB       tel: 01786 643399        Woodside Hotel

///reset.cherry.overjoyed

James’ Coffee Bar

Here’s another random scone. When you walk along Main Street in the peaceful little village of Doune, apart its rather formidable castle, you probably wouldn’t ever imagine that it was once famous for the manufacture of guns. Yet from the mid 1600s to the late 1700s pistol making was the main industry here. All that is long since gone and the reason we come here nowadays is not for guns but for dresses. Or, whenever we think we have accumulated too much money! Woodlane of Doune is an excellent ladies dress shop for sorting that problem out.

It was when Pat was in a changing room that I was asked if we were going across the road to the Buttercup Cafe afterwards. I said that we had been there recently and thought we would try and find somewhere else. “Oh, you should try James’ Coffee Bar” was the reply “It’s open air but it has a roof … and it’s not far from here.

Internal view of James'

Being outside

We’d never heard of it. We were intrigued … open air in December?  With what little money we had left we took our leave of Woodlane carrying several large bags. The ladies in the shop, however, had given us clear directions to James’ Coffee Bar so we set off to find it. It’s in the middle of nowhere on a road that we never use so that’s why we hadn’t come across it before. It sits adjacent to Stockbridge Nurseries Garden Centre and takes the form of one of those American Airstream aluminium trailers. The seating area is ‘outdoors’ but the roof is extensive and on a dull but nice day like today it was rather good to be ‘outside’.internal view of James'

Local products

The first thing we saw at the counter was the scones and just a few other cakes and things. Then we realised there was huge menu on the wall beside where we were standing. A scone at James'Eventually the order was two bacon rolls and a fruit scone to share. The girls in the trailer were delightful and soon had us sorted with everything we needed. No fine china here but, of course, in an establishment like this that would have been totally inappropriate. Our scone came in a cardboard tub along with a jar of jam, a wee tub of cream and a wooden knife. The coffee, Grumpy Mule was good but no as good as our favourite Cat’s Pyjamas. Puzzles us why people use companies hundreds of miles away while there are local products which are just as good, if not better.

Logo of James'Other than that we really enjoyed James’. It’s a family run enterprise born from the restrictions forced upon them by COVID. When we were finished we simply tipped everything into the appropriate recycling bins. For us it was just a little out of the ordinary and a bit of fun. We hope they go from strength to strength. Now that we know where it is the summer will doubtless see us back at James’.

Football business

For us the World Cup is proving to be not so much fun. In spite of FIFA pretending that they run and organise the event this one is pretty obviously being run by Qatar. Nothing happens without their approval. The whole thing, right down to them piping bird song into newly created parks is just a bit weird. The promised ‘greenest’ World Cup ever has proved to be a joke. Human rights seem to be another joke with all our home teams being too lily livered to wear an armband. Christiano Renaldo ‘not being sure‘ whether to accept £173m for a two year contract in Saudi perhaps illustrates all that is wrong with the modern business of football! AND, we have to have something to moan about!

FK15 9ND         Tel: 07936 078661      James’ Coffee Bar

///star.cello.megawatt

The Soup Dragon Café

Sign at the Soup DragonFor those of  a delicate  disposition and for those who might believe some or indeed anything on allaboutthescones, let us assure you that the dragon in the title picture isn’t real. It’s real only in the sense that it does exist. It lives round at the back after having been adopted by the owners of the Soup Dragon café. They adopted it after a festival where it had been destined for the scrap heap. The title picture is merely a confection from the writer’s rather over active imagination. So where are we?

Our kind of place

Tir na Nog logoIronically, after saying in our previous post that we had never been to Balfron we are back again. At Tír na nÓg,  a holistic healing centre to be precise. In Celtic folklore it is described as an island paradise of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy. Sounds precisely like our kind of place.  All a bit weird but rather wonderful at the same time.

Courtyard at the Soup Dragon
The courtyard with the Wishing Tree on the left

Our Trossachs correspondents had brought us to Tír na nÓg but, of course it was the Soup Dragon Café that was the main attraction. There’s loads of other things here – treatment and consultation rooms, a couple of shops as well as an animal sanctuary and enchanted forest walks.

Wishing and hoping

In the courtyard they have a Wishing Tree. We all selected a ribbon to tie to it. The ribbons all meant different things according to the colour. Wishing tree at the Soup DragonPat chose blue which represents ‘spirituality, tranquility and peace‘. I thought I should have green ‘prosperity, abundance, healing and luck‘ but there were no green ones left. Orange stood for ‘creativity, self-expression, joy and vitality‘ but none of them left either … argh! I was taking so long choosing, the lady behind the counter eventually leaned over and said “it doesn’t matter which colour you choose, just make up whatever you like“. Thoroughly deflated I chose blue … same as Pat.

Internal view of the Soup DragonHaving tied our ribbons and made our wishes we headed for the café to wait for them to come true. It’s quite a big place and there are tables outside in the courtyard as well. The young girl looking after us was a delight. She brought water for the table without us even asking. This being the Soup Dragon, we thought some soup would be appropriate. She said they were famous for their spicy lentil so that’s what we all had. Accompanied by home baked bread it was delicious. We were really beginning to warm to this place. 

Unanimous

Eventually, after some other stuff to eat, it was the turn of the scones. A scone at the Soup DragonPat and I were sharing one between us because the soup and lunch had been quite substantial. Our friends were doing the same. The scones came with nice little pots of jam and cream as well as a wee plastic pot of Danish butter. It would have been nice if the butter had been Scottish but heyho! When you look at all the kiddies starving in Afghanistan we should just be counting our blessings rather than moaning about trifles like butter. The scones were still warm from the oven and tasted wonderful. Just the right consistency and with that slight crunch that we like. A unanimous topscone, well done the Soup Dragon Café.

Curiosity

Meanwhile the café had filled up and the courtyard tables were also taken. Our girl turned out to be the only person there other than the chef. She was coping fantastically well. Snickerdoodle cake at the Soup DragonEarlier I had noticed a rather enticing cake which was labelled “snickerdoodle”. Curiosity sparked, I asked what it was. She explained that it had been made earlier by the chef but that she had completed it with the butter icing. It had to be done. We ordered one slice and four forks. Sign at the Soup Dragon

Then the problem was that two of us had almost finished our coffees but neither wanted another full cup in spite of it being Henry’s, our favourite. We asked for an Americano to share. No problem. However, rather than having us messing around trying to split a coffee she appeared with two small cups, brilliant. We have had some grim waitressing experiences recently so it really was an absolute pleasure to be served by this girl. The snickerdoodle cake was nice but although the icing was expertly done it was a little on the sweet side for our taste. Curiosity satisfied though!

Ornaments at the Soup Dragon
A shelf of things for sale
Eternal youth

Ornament at the Soup DragonGosh, the Prime Minister of Finland may have to resign because she has been photographed dancing. They really need to try a bit of British politics if they want to know what serious partying is all about. Wouldn’t it be great if the world was a bit more Tír na nÓgish and the people were more like the girl at the Soup Dragon. Not sure how much faith we can place in all this candles and crystals stuff but suffice to say that by the time we were leaving Tír na nÓg we did feel a lot more joyous than when we went in. Not sure about the eternal youth … we’ll let you know. Logo of the Soup Dragon

G63 0NF               tel: 01360 440756.                 Dragon Cafe

///darkens.retail.banquets

Westerton Arms

When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “Treasure Island” he may have been thinking of the place we are in today. He certainly was when he wrote “Memoirs of an Islet” and the poem “A Good Boy”. We know this because his ill health meant he spent much of his childhood years in this small spa town. Later when he was living in Hyères in the South of France he wrote “I shall never forget the days at Bridge of Allan; they were one golden dream”. Yes, we are in Bridge of Allan, not to take the waters but rather the scones at the Westerton Arms.

Footballers

How times have changed! Seems odd nowadays to think that, in Victorian times, whole towns grew up around a spring. There was nothing particularly special about the water apart from the fact that it was clean; something we now simply take for granted. Wealthy Victorians would flock to these  towns for their health benefits. You can see echoes of this past everywhere in Bridge of Allan. Lots of green spaces and grand mansion houses that, nowadays, are largely the preserve of obscenely overpaid footballers. By the way, if you look to the left of the title picture, you can see the Paterson Memorial clock … nothing to do with us! The Paterson in question was a local doctor who served the local community for many years.Internal view of the Western Arms

The Westerton Arms began life in 1831, almost twenty years before Stevenson was born. He, like us, may well have come here for a scone? Although almost 170 years old it is surprisingly fresh and modern inside and would appear to be undergoing still more refurbishment. The staff were very welcoming and soon had us kitted out with some excellent lunch.

Reasons to go to Samoa?

Henry's Coffee Co coffee cupThey brought our coffee while we waited for our scones and lo-and-behold it was our favourite from Henry’s Coffee Company. It doesn’t get much better than this so things were looking very promising.  Unfortunately, it didn’t continue. A scone at the Western ArmsThe scones (£2.95 each) were decidedly average and served with American jam and French butter … quelle dommage! The scone itself was a fairly lifeless affair. When we expressed our disappointment we were told that all the other cakes were made in their own kitchen but they didn’t know where the scones came from?? Maybe this is why Robert Louis Stevenson left Scotland and ended up in Samoa?

Holding your breath

The Pope, on his recent visit to Greece, has scolded almost all western leaders over their treatment of immigrants. Likewise Tony Blair has been scolding the same leaders over their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Neither Tony or Francis have the power to do anything about anything so it’s easy for them to go off on one! Will their words  effect any change? Don’t hold your breath!

FK9 4HR        tel: 01786 200545.      Westerton Arms  

///honest.tucked.boots

ps: The next day we got a lovely surprise when one of our neighbours popped in with some scones. If only the scones the day before had been as good as these they would have been topscones.Ann Style's scone

MacMillan Coffee Morning

Back in 2019 Pat ran a MacMillan Coffee Morning and raised over £500 which we thought was absolutely tremendous. Last year, of course, it was cancelled because of COVID. This year she thought she would try again. It’s easy to agreed to run one of these events in April when September is still almost six months away. Suddenly, however, it’s September and you realise that there is a lot involved in getting such an event off the ground …. aaaargghh!Publicity for MacMillan Coffee Morning

The MacMillan organisation has given our family much appreciated support over the years. So, no matter how much is involved, we feel almost duty bound to try and repay in some small way. The MacMillan Coffee Mornings are a very pleasurable way of doing exactly that.

Lion poo

invitations were distributed round the neighbourhood over a fortnight ago but would anybody come … that was the question? Of course they did and yesterday our house was packed to bursting.Friends at the MacMillan Coffee Morning

One of the nice things about these events is that fact that people are so happy to help in any way they can. Cakes galore appeared as if by magic as did biscuits, tarts and all sorts of other goodies. Folk also brought plants and things to sell or use as raffle prizes … amazing! We even had a box of lion poo to raffle!

And guess what, one guest even brought a whole tray of homebaked scones … yeah! A scone at MacMillan Coffee MorningThe house was stuffed with people and while Pat and I mingled  our friends worked themselves to te bone making sure everything went like clockwork We are so lucky! I even had time to sample the scones. They all looked great, just the right size and soft with just a hint of crustiness on the exterior. Together with apple jelly and whipped cream they would have been an easy topscone had it not been for the fact that none of our readers will ever be able to sample them. That’s not a whole lot of use so we’ve had to leave them as ‘uncategorised’. Fab sconesthoughFriends at the MacMillan Coffee Morning

Generosity

We’ve left out carping about politicians in this post because this is much more important … they can wait for our disgruntlement. At the moment we are very happy, because it was a wonderful couple of hours. Publicity for MacMillan Coffee MorningTo us it reaffirmed just how wonderful people are! Either by helping in all sorts of ways but also by their extraordinary generosity. MacMillan Coffee Mornings were going being  held all over the world at the same time as ours. If you consider that our relatively modest event has  raised the amazing amount £1,250 so far there must have been a lot of money donated to MacMillan yesterday. And quite right too! If any readers feel like contributing even more you can use this QR code.QR code for MacMillan Coffee MorningThe winner of the lion poo just cannot believe his luck!

Many thanks to everyone concerned but particularly to Henry’s Coffee Company and Cafe Corvina for their very generous support.

 

Food4Friends

Before we tell you about Food4Friends please permit us a small ramble. Isn’t it just fantastic! Just as we were resigning ourselves to a day of the media going on endlessly about the elections being held today, we awake to the news that Britain is sending warships to confront France! Wow, it’s just like old times … and against our favourite enemy. You can almost hear the jingoism in Westminster. Jacob Rees-Mogg will be standing on the white cliffs singing Rule, Britannia! You would think that there must be a better way to settle disputes? Oh yes, we remember now, that’s why the EU was formed! Now do you see, all you lily-livered Remoaners, war with France wouldn’t have been remotely possible without Brexit … hurrah!Logo for Food 4 Friends

Thoughtful

Enough of that, we should give Food4Friends a mention. A very good mention at that because we selected them to help us celebrate our wedding anniversary with one of their afternoon teas. They are a well established Falkirk company but, up until now, we haven’t used them. What would they be like? Well right from the get-go things looked very promising. Everything was neatly packed in recyclable bags and boxes … you could just tell that thoughtful care had been taken (see title photo). And the contents did not disappoint either.Afternoon tea menu from Food 4 Friends

Reminiscing

Afternoon tea layout from Food 4 FriendsIt was a chilly day so we carefully unpacked everything with a view to eating it sitting in front of a nice open fire. To help things along we began with a glass of Rosé Bollinger. We know we shouldn’t now that we  have the prospect of war with France but hey … Auld Alliance and all that! And before you all think we have become a bit too decadent, we don’t have Bolli every day! As often as we can but not every day. We also had some Scottish All Day tea courtesy of our favourite coffee company. What could be better? We sat reflecting on our wedding in Strathyre while nibbling wonderfully fresh smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches. At £20 we thought it good value for money … especially when we remembered that £20 represented almost a fifth of our entire wedding budget for 120 guests.

scones from Food 4 FriendsIn our last post at the Granary Café we liked the look of the scones but were a wee bit disappointed with the size and the texture. This time we were a bit disappointed with the look of the scones (preloaded) but were very pleasantly surprised when it came to eating them. Top marks, best preloaded scones we have ever had!

Sorting things out

cakes from Food 4 FriendsBy the time we got to the cakes we had almost forgotten about elections and potential wars with France. It did remind us however that the main reason for forming the Union between England and Scotland in 1707 was because England considered Scotland to be far too friendly with the French. Scotland didn’t get a say in 1707, just as it doesn’t get a say now. Hopefully after today’s election we might start on the road to sorting all that out. So heres to everyone voting correctly!

In the meantime we can thoroughly recommend Food4Friends. They even have a Secret Supper Club!

 tel: 07715 629093      Food4Friends

Corner Café – Boxed

Two years ago when we visited the Corner Café in our home town of Falkirk it was still a new enterprise … only two weeks old in fact. Fresh out of the box, so to speak! Now, the ever enterprising owner Andrew Harkins and his team, prompted by COVID restrictions, have taken it upon themselves  to supply afternoon tea in a box. Egh? So it’s perhaps appropriate that the title of this post is not Corner Café – Revisited, because we didn’t, but Corner Café – Boxed.

The logo at the Corner Café, Falkirk Afternoon tea in a box is a bit of an oxymoron, is it not? Surely, an item of such gentility and refinement cannot be placed in a box? A cardboard box to boot! However, given that we cannot travel anywhere, the next best thing to being out for afternoon tea in some splendiferous surroundings is to have it at home. But then you have to make it! Well, for the princely sum of £20 you can enjoy the simply pleasures of afternoon tea for two in your own home. And none of the bother of actually having to make it yourself. Brilliant! But what would it be like? We had to investigate!

Headlines

Bubbles at homeBack in 2018, when we first reported on this place, the main news was about a member of the Royal family closing her own car door. The media had got its knickers in a right Royal twist. Things have moved on since then with the offending Royal banished forever to America where such unseemly behaviour is deemed quite acceptable.

We also reported that the Ayrshire Ladies tug-of-war team had won the 500kg World Championship in Cape Town. The only news from Ayrshire this week was a bold headline in the Ayrshire Daily News South Ayrshire Golf club owner loses 2020 presidential election“. In the past Trump has said that if he loses he will leave the US and move to Scotland. Noooo … Trump for President, Biden’s a cheat!!!” Seriously, we thought a glass of bubbles was appropriate to toast President Joe and add a touch of decadence to our afternoon tea in a box. Not absolutely necessary you understand but necessary enough … okay?

What’s in the box?

boxed afternoon teaAnyway, what about a box of afternoon tea? You do have to collect it from the Corner Café yourself but they provide it with a window so you get a hint of what’s inside!  First impressions? There’s plenty in there. We might struggle a bit. When we decanted the contents on to our admittedly small tiered afternoon tea plate there was not nearly enough room for everything. It would have to be a two stage affair.a boxed afternoon tea at home

The sandwiches, rolls and pies were all excellent. Now we were getting worried about having enough room for the four medium sized scones. We were right to worry. At the end of the day, conscience of having to leave some room for cakes, we only managed one and a half scones between us. We had given them a wee blast in the oven so they were nice and warm. Generous tubs of jam and clotted cream made them quite delicious. It did no harm that, like the Corner Café, our tea and coffee was supplied by Henry’s Coffee Company. Another topscone for the Corner Café.

Wandering minds

scones in a boxed afternoon teaIn the end we did little justice to the cakes and biscuits. They’ll keep ’til tomorrow! As we sat there in front of the fire, pleasantly bloated and  full of tea and bubbles our minds wandered to things we don’t understand. That’s a lot to contemplate! We thought getting older was supposed to bring greater understanding. Not so! Quite the opposite! Voting for Trump, voting for Boris, voting for Brexit, voting for Farage?? Thank goodness for afternoon tea. One of the few things left that we do understand.

Well done the Corner Café. The fact that you can get almost everything we understand into a relatively small box is truly amazing … or is it?

FK1 1LZ.     tel: 01324 410949        The Corner Café FB

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